Verdicts & Settlements

Motor Vehicle Accidents

In Lewis, Duffy + Partners represented a Philadelphia doctor in a five-week trial where a jury awarded $15,700,000 to the doctor and occupants of a car she had rented after an accident stripped her of the use of her left arm and her medical practice. Attorneys for a Toyota dealer under contract to provide maintenance on the vehicle argued that the client had been speeding and the car hydroplaned, but the firm prevailed in persuading jurors that it was mechanical failure due to faulty maintenance and service. The verdict was later affirmed by the PA Superior Court, then challenged and upheld in PA Supreme Court resulting in a recovery of over $19,500,000 with interest.

In Whittlesey, Duffy + Partners obtained a $12,000,000 settlement for client Terry Whittlesey, a young man who, while a passenger in a car on his way to a vacation, was rear-ended by a commercial truck. The trucking company denied all fault associated with the accident and only agreed to the settlement after jury selection was completed and the trial was about to begin. The settlement, which was reported as one of the largest verdicts in the state that year, enabled Mr. Whittlesey to move from a trailer into a home that was specially-constructed to accommodate his ongoing physical needs.

In Nalls, Duffy + Partners secured a $2,650,000 settlement for a young off-duty police officer who was forced off the job by injuries he received when the driver of an automobile hit him on his motorcycle, causing injuries to his face, arm and leg.

In Duffy, Duffy + Partners obtained a $1,900,000 verdict for John Duffy, an insurance salesman, who suffered a broken hip following a motor vehicle collision with a police cruiser. The police officer contended he was in a high-speed pursuit of another vehicle, which simply did not pan out to be accurate based upon the police tapes.

In Pakuris, Duffy + Partners obtained a $1,550,000 verdict for a veteran Philadelphia attorney who suffered a torn rotator cuff following a motor vehicle accident in Media. The attorney sought the assistance of Duffy + Partners for the handling of his claim against the defense driver. The defendant contended that the insignificant impact could not have caused the total disruption of Mr. Pakuris’ rotator cuff. Duffy + Partners was successful in having the defendant’s biomechanical engineer precluded from testifying based upon research against the expert that Duffy + Partners had located in other States.

Trucking Accidents

In Whittlesey, Duffy + Partners obtained a $12,000,000 settlement for client Terry Whittlesey, a young man who, while a passenger in a car on his way to a vacation, was rear-ended by a commercial truck. The trucking company denied all fault associated with the accident and only agreed to the settlement after jury selection was completed and the trial was about to begin. The settlement, which was reported as one of the largest verdicts in the state that year, enabled Mr. Whittlesey to move from a trailer into a home that was specially-constructed to accommodate his ongoing physical needs.

In Kelly, Duffy + Partners settled Reverend Crawford Kelly, Jr.'s claim for $6,000,000, the full insurance policy limit available in the litigation, after Reverend Kelly’s vehicle was struck by a tractor-trailer, causing his vehicle to flip and resulting in the traumatic amputation of his arm. The settlement for the incident, which occurred in New Jersey, was reported as one of the largest verdicts in the state that year.

In Sawyer, Duffy + Partners secured a $3,750,000 settlement for client Susan Sawyer, a former security guard at a port in Delaware County who was the victim of devastating injuries when a tractor trailer ran over her leg and foot.

In Mathis, Duffy + Partners obtained a $3,750,000 settlement during the fourth day of trial for a man who was injured in a low-speed, low-impact crash. There was only $750 in property damage, and there was no traumatic injury established on any x-ray, MRI or other study. However, during trial, Duffy + Partners, through expert research and testimony, established that the minor accident triggered a genetic condition in Mr. Mathis, then 44, known as Ankylosing Spondylitis, a condition of which Mr. Mathis was even unaware. By the time of trial, Mr. Mathis walked with a cane as his genetic condition had caused a progressive fusing of his spine.

In Schramm, Duffy + Partners won a $3,400,000 settlement for a client who suffered massive leg injuries when the tractor-trailer he was driving was hit by another trucker's rig.

In Wardrop, Duffy + Partners attained a $1,700,000 settlement for the family of a warehouse worker who was killed when the driver of a tractor trailer being unloaded by Bruce Wardrop moved the truck without warning, which caused the forklift being operated by Mr. Wardrop to overturn, causing his untimely death.

In Staton, Duffy + Partners settled client Stacy Staton’s suit for $1,100,000 against a company who improperly loaded items onto a tractor trailer he was driving, which caused the truck to tip over during a turn and which resulted in his suffering multiple injuries, surgery and ongoing physical limitations and pain.

In Britt, Duffy + Partners obtained a policy limits settlement of $1,000,000 in Lehigh County for an Upper Darby police officer who suffered a back injury following an accident with a lumber truck. While the defense disputed liability, causation and damages, and conducted countless hours of surveillance of Mr. Britt, an inflexible policy limit demand was made, and a tender ultimately came shortly before trial.

Construction Accidents

A construction failure can result in massive property damage. In NCO Group, Duffy + Partners obtained a $28,200,000 verdict for property owners who suffered catastrophic losses due to failures in construction sequencing that ultimately resulted in the virtual destruction of several businesses by way of flooding. While the defendants argued that they were not negligent, or that their negligence did not cause the damages suffered by the plaintiffs, the jury clearly found otherwise.

In Mangano, a high school administrator came to Duffy + Partners for help after she slipped on wet flooring glue that had been applied by a flooring contractor. While the defense admitted spreading the glue, they claimed that Mrs. Mangano was not watching where she was walking, and should have seen the bright white glue on the floor. Through depositions of defense corporate representatives, it was discovered that while the contractor had prepared a company safety manual, it never distributed it to their employees as it burdensome to do so. Mrs. Mangano claimed severe pain in her leg, which, while it did not appear on MRIs or X-Rays, was identified as RSD/CRPS, a post-traumatic pain syndrome linked to her accident. The defense denied the diagnosis of RSD/CRPS, and blamed her pain on a prior accident and/or prior medical conditions. In the end, the firm secured a $5,000,000 settlement for Mr. and Mrs. Mangano to compensate them for Mrs. Mangano’s pain, limitations, wage loss and medical bills.

In Voce, a 49 year old union glazer was caused to suffer a permanent hip injury, resulting in his inability to return work, when the ladder he was working on, collapsed into a nearby ditch. The jury returned a $6,500,000 verdict for Mr. and Mrs. Voce, finding the general contractor negligent by providing an unsafe working environment for Mr. Voce and his co-workers.

In Baird,Duffy + Partners secured a $2,350,000 settlement for a union glazier who became permanently disabled because he had to dive to get out of the way of a crate of glass being unloaded by a crane.

In Davia, Duffy + Partners obtained a $1,900,000 settlement for a contractor who suffered multiple injuries after a fall from scaffolding that had been improperly and unsafely built by another contractor on a construction site.

In Kee, Duffy + Partners obtained a $1,500,000 settlement for a union plumber who fell through a rotted floor during a commercial construction project. While Mr. Kee fell only 2 feet, he suffered bilateral shoulder injuries resulting in his inability to continue work as a union plumber.

Product Liability

In Rice, the Superior Court affirmed a $12,400,000 verdict (obtained in addition to a $3,500,000 settlement previously received) which, combined with interest and delay damages, totaled over $22,500,000. This affirmation was for the retrial of a 2006 case, where Duffy + Partners’ client Leroy Rice, a forklift operator who was crushed and partially paralyzed by pallets of frozen food when the warehouse racking he was working near collapsed upon him, was awarded a $10,600,000 verdict and $3,500,000 settlement.

In Eap, a $7,000,000 combined policy limits settlement was reached for a 34 year old small business owner rendered a paraplegic when a slab of stone fell upon him from a table used to fabricate stone into decorative countertops. The settlement was obtained from the table manufacturer and two distributors.

In Straub, Duffy + Partners obtained a $4,500,000 verdict in favor of Doug Straub, a construction worker, and his wife, Carol. Mr. Straub suffered many broken bones and a closed head injury following the failure of a sewer plug which exploded, breaking bones in his face, arms and legs. The verdict was appealed to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court twice and was ultimately affirmed resulting, with delay damages, in payment of approximately $6,500,000. The verdict was reported as one of the largest verdicts in the State that year.

Premises Liability

In Mangano, a high school administrator came to Duffy + Partners for help after she slipped on wet flooring glue that had been applied by a flooring contractor. While the defense admitted spreading the glue, they claimed that Mrs. Mangano was not watching where she was walking, and should have seen the bright white glue on the floor. Through depositions of defense corporate representatives, it was discovered that while the contractor had prepared a company safety manual, it never distributed it to their employees as it burdensome to do so. Mrs. Mangano claimed severe pain in her leg, which, while it did not appear on MRIs or X-Rays, was identified as RSD/CRPS, a post-traumatic pain syndrome linked to her accident. The defense denied the diagnosis of RSD/CRPS, and blamed her pain on a prior accident and/or prior medical conditions. In the end, the firm secured a $5,000,000 settlement for Mr. and Mrs. Mangano to compensate them for Mrs. Mangano’s pain, limitations, wage loss and medical bills.

In Zarzecki, Duffy + Partners represented the family of a cellular infrastructure technician who died after falling 10 stories from a Philadelphia rooftop. While the defendants argued that Mr. Zarzecki, the job foreman, was responsible for failing to wear the provided fall protection, Duffy + Partners argued that the focus should be on the building owners, property managers and general contractor’s poor planning and design of the project, not the workers who are simply trying to get the job done. The firm successfully negotiated a $4,450,000 million settlement from multiple defendants.

In Gymnastics Plus, Duffy + Partners obtained a $3,000,000 verdict for a New Jersey gymnastics facility which burned down due to the failure of the local utility, GPU, to maintain adequate surge protection at its transformers. GPU contended that such a verdict was the first of its kind and would set a new standard of safety for the utility. GPU fought the case, unsuccessfully, through the Appellate Division and Supreme Courts of New Jersey.

In Cole, a truck driver, Mike Cole, suffered a wrist injury when a steel roll-away door, fell from its track, landing on Mr. Cole’s wrist, causing it to fracture in multiple places. Mr. Cole, a truck driver, was unable to continue driving trucks. A New Castle County, Delaware jury returned a $1,600,000 verdict for Mr. Cole against the Port of Wilmington.

Medical Malpractice

In Campbell, Duffy + Partners won a $21,400,000 verdict on behalf of a diabetic man for treatment he received in the emergency room of Temple University Hospital. When Ronald Campbell was taken to the hospital in October of 2007, he was administered glucagons and glucopaste by emergency medical technicians, then discharged to family members, who found him unresponsive in bed the next morning. The defense argued that the treatment and discharge was proper, as Mr. Campbell had been brought to the hospital 11 times for high or low blood sugar levels in the five years prior (including one two days earlier), and that he failed to properly manage his diabetes by not complying with medical advice. However, the firm successfully argued that diabetics who suffer from repeated episodes of hypoglycemia develop a condition termed 'hypoglycemic unawareness' in which the brain becomes less sensitive to lower and lower glucose levels.

In a recent case, Duffy + Partners reached a $13,500,000 confidential settlement with a hospital for a child and her family. The child was born with cerebral palsy as a result of the neglect of the hospital staff and physicians during the birthing process of the infant.

In Divon, Duffy + Partners won a $6,000,000 verdict against Wills Eye Hospital for Peter Divon, a forklift operator, who suffered blindness in one eye as a result of an infection which developed following a surgery to repair a detached retina. The verdict was reported as one of the largest verdicts in the State that year.

In Smith, Duffy + Partners won a $4,500,000 verdict against Misericordia Hospital, finding the hospital negligent in their testing and treatment of David Smith, ultimately resulting in his death. Mr. Smith was taken by his mother to Misericordia Hospital, and ultimately died of an aortic dissection after the hospital staff failed to properly treat or diagnose Mr. Smith’s condition. The jury returned its verdict after a 2 week long trial. The verdict was reported as one of the largest verdicts in the State that year.

In Graves, a jury returned a $2,000,000 verdict following a 5 day trial, finding that Hahnemann Hospital, and its staff, committed malpractice during a surgical procedure when nerves in Mrs. Graves throat were accidentally cut. This verdict was especially impressive considering no claim for lost wages or medical bills was made – the verdict was based entirely on “pain and suffering”.

In Rivera, the firm successfully argued before a Philadelphia Jury that a 31-year-old man’s poor care at a local hospital led to his death, obtaining a $750,000 verdict for his family.

Birth Injury

Duffy + Partners obtained a $20,500,000 settlement from a major Philadelphia hospital and its doctors based on our proof that the doctors failed to appreciate distress on a fetal monitoring strip. The doctors delayed performing a cesarean section. That delay resulted in anoxic injury to the child and severe cerebral palsy.

The firm secured a $13,500,000 settlement from a major Philadelphia hospital and its doctors based on our proof that the attending maternal fetal medicine physician and the residents who were asked to monitor the mother's labor failed to see that an increase in the mother's glucose level was caused by a failure to properly administer insulin. The doctors delayed initiating delivery for the child resulting in an anoxic injury causing severe cerebral palsy.

A $5,000,000 settlement was obtained for a child who suffered severe cerebral palsy due to head trauma that was sustained when the doctors improperly used instruments during delivery.

Duffy + Partners won a $4,500,000 settlement from a teaching hospital and an attending physician who failed to recognize that a mother had had a recent outbreak of herpes. The doctor permitted the mother to deliver the child vaginally, exposing the child to the herpes virus which caused severe cerebral palsy. The child was 15 when the mother first approached Duffy + Partners, after another attorney had reviewed the case and turned it down.

A $3,800,000 settlement was attained for a boy who, at 28 hours after birth, developed necrotizing endocolitis (NEC). Failure to properly diagnose the NEC resulted in a decrease in oxygen saturation that ultimately caused an anoxic injury and cerebral palsy to the boy.

A $2,250,000 settlement was reached for a baby with cerebral palsy who was delivered by a midwife and nurses. The midwife and nurses failed to recognize the significance of deceleration and drop in the baseline on the fetal monitor

Duffy + Partners won a $1,500,000 settlement for a boy with Erb's Palsy caused by an attending doctor's negligent delivery after a shoulder dystocia was encountered. The doctor failed to perform the necessary maneuvers to avoid an injury.

Spinal Cord Injury

A young man travelled with his school to an in-service outing where there was little or no adult supervision and suffered a paralyzing injury during that field trip. We filed a lawsuit against the school on his behalf and in a settlement (which precludes us naming the client or the institution) the young man received $36,000,000.

In Rice, a case that spanned over 10 years, two jury verdicts and several appeals, the Pennsylvania Superior Court affirmed a $12,400,000 verdict obtained in addition to a $3,500,000 settlement previously received. Those amounts, combined with interest and delay damages for retrials, secured over $22,500,000 for the firm’s client, a forklift operator who was crushed and partially paralyzed by pallets of frozen food when the warehouse racking he was working near collapsed upon him.

In Whittlesey, Duffy + Partners obtained a $12,000,000 settlement for client Terry Whittlesey, a young man who, while a passenger in a car on his way to a vacation, was rear-ended by a commercial truck. The trucking company denied all fault associated with the accident and only agreed to the settlement after jury selection was completed and the trial was about to begin. The settlement, which was reported as one of the largest verdicts in the state that year, enabled Mr. Whittlesey to move from a trailer into a home that was specially-constructed to accommodate his ongoing physical needs.

In a $4,000,000 confidential settlement, we prevailed on behalf of a client against an international hotel company following a slip and fall in Mexico. Our client slipped on water tracked onto a tile floor from a pool area and struck his head on the person in front of him, breaking his neck and resulting in quadriplegia injuries. We were able to establish that the parent hotel, despite its efforts to layer many subsidiaries for insulation, would “push down” policies to its sub-subsidiaries’ hotels, resulting, among other things, in the use of the wrong type of outdoor floor mats. The backing material used on those mats resulted in the mats themselves capturing water, which then caused individuals with dry shoes or feet to track that water onto a previously dry tile surface. Despite defense efforts to remove the case to federal court and then transfer it to Mexico, Duffy + Partners fought successfully to institute and keep the matter in Philadelphia.

Another client, a young mother in her 30’s, sought care from several successive doctors to correct lower back and related abdominal pain. After following the advice of the doctors and enduring multiple “corrective” surgeries, she received no relief whatsoever. Rib cage-related neuralgia, costochondritis, musculoskeletal pain, failed back surgery syndrome, thoracotomy syndrome, and graft site pain left her unable to return to her full-time responsibilities as a nursing supervisor. Duffy + Partners secured a $3,000,000 settlement to offset her future wage losses and medical care.

We obtained a confidential settlement against a large Philadelphia hospital and resident physician group after our client, a 51 year old happily married and employed man with two young children and some minor health issues, underwent spinal surgery at the recommendation of the physicians. The surgery left him with complications that involved being the ability to swallow only with difficulty and being at risk for aspiration. Though he died from completely unrelated causes, Duffy + Partners was able to secure $1,000,000 in compensation for his family.

Personal Injury

In Ward, Duffy + Partners secured a $2,500,000 settlement for a woman who, while working at her job as a bank teller supervisor, sustained injuries and permanent nerve damage when a deliveryman knocked a heavy box off of a hand truck onto our client's foot and leg.

In Moyer, a a Philadelphia jury awarded $850,000 to a client who had been struck and knocked down by a delivery truck as the truck was pulling out from the loading dock. The defense argued that the driver had looked in his mirrors within seconds before the incident, and Ms. Moyer was not present. Duffy + Partners successfully argued that whether Ms. Moyer was present for merely seconds or longer is immaterial as one should not move a truck without confirming it was safe to do so. The defense also argued that Ms. Moyer sustained nothing more than soft-tissue injuries.